What&rsquo;s Up with LVS? It&rsquo;s Down

I do have a legitimate reason to discuss Las Vegas Sands
Corp. (LVS) today, because the company stepped into the earnings
spotlight last week. However, my strict Catholic upbringing compels me to
confess that I also have an ulterior motive for discussing the gambling guru.
So, let's start with the above-board analysis first, shall we?

LVS is off the high of the year significantly, even though the casino concern
exceeded first-quarter earnings expectations. The firm raked in an ex-items
profit of seven cents per share, compared to analysts' consensus forecast for a
profit of just two cents per share. Net revenue of $1.33 billion also surpassed
the Street's estimates.

Analysts seem pleased by the report, with UBS raising its rating on the stock
from "neutral" to "buy" and S&P Equity hiking its price target from $15 to
$21. Unfortunately, amid a persistently negative bias in the broader equities
market, LVS has been unable to capitalize on its well-received report. In fact,
it looks as though traders are adding new puts at the June 20 strike today, with
speculators looking for the shares to fall into the teens during the short term.

However, bulls shouldn't give up hope just yet. LVS is still holding above
support at its ten-month moving average. Plus, short interest accounts for a
hefty 15.5% of LVS' float, which means there's no shortage of sideline cash that
could flow into the stock once this bout of broad-market volatility passes.

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But, like I was saying, I kind of have an ulterior motive for writing about
LVS. Next Monday, I'm flying out to Las Vegas to attend The Money Show with some
of my colleagues here at Schaeffer's. Don't feel bad if you can't make it out to
Caesar's Palace to hang out with us-I'll be live-blogging all of the action on
the Trading Floor Blog.

(You can also tune in free for LIVE Webcast events here on MoneyShow.com.
Click
here for access.)

So, if you're interested in, say, the finer points of Bernie Schaeffer's
keynote speech, Todd Salamone's advice on trading in uncertain markets, or Ryan
Detrick's warning about the five options mistakes you need to avoid, stay tuned,
because I plan on covering all those presentations and more. As soon as I'm done
cleaning up at the blackjack table, of course.